The Narrow Margin (1952)

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Earl Felton (screenplay)
Martin Goldsmith (story)
(more)

Release Date:

4 May 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

"Okay, copper - you rigged it! Let her stop a bullet!"

Plot:

A woman planning to testify against the mob must be protected against their assassins on the train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Plot Keywords:

Woman In Jeopardy | Woman Shot | Lawyer | Disturbing | Criminal

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Charles McGraw	...	Det. Sgt. Walter Brown
Marie Windsor	...	Mrs. Frankie Neall
Jacqueline White	...	Ann Sinclair
Gordon Gebert	...	Tommy Sinclair
Queenie Leonard	...	Mrs. Troll
David Clarke	...	Joseph Kemp
Peter Virgo	...	Densel
Don Beddoe	...	Det. Sgt. Gus Forbes
Paul Maxey	...	Sam Jennings
Harry Harvey	...	Train conductor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Brocco	...	Vincent Yost (uncredited)
Ivan Browning	...	Waiter (uncredited)
George Chandler	...	Newsstand Proprietor / Accomplice (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Tenant in Apartment House Hallway (uncredited)
Don Dillaway	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Club Car Extra (uncredited)
Don Haggerty	...	Det. Wilson (uncredited)
Clarence Hargrave	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Bobby Johnson	...	Redcap (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Tenant (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Taxi driver (uncredited)
Johnny Lee	...	Waiter (uncredited)
William A. Lee	...	Newsstand owner (uncredited)
Walter Merrill	...	Officer Allen (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Train conductor (uncredited)
Edgar Murray	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Franklin Parker	...	Telegraph attendant (uncredited)
George Sawaya	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Club Car Extra (uncredited)
Jasper Weldon	...	Porter (uncredited)
Napoleon Whiting	...	Redcap (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Fleischer

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Earl Felton		screenplay
Martin Goldsmith		story
Jack Leonard		story

Produced by
Stanley Rubin	....	producer

Cinematography by
George E. Diskant		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Swink

Art Direction by
Albert S. D'Agostino
Jack Okey

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera
William Stevens

Costume Design by
Adele Balkan		(uncredited)

Sound Department
Clem Portman	....	sound
Francis M. Sarver	....	sound (as Francis Sarver)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

The Target (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #14531)

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe Depot, San Bernardino, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The film was shot in 13 days and the only part actually filmed on board a train was a few seconds of the arrival in Los Angeles.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the character of nine year old Tommy Sinclair (Gordon Gerbert) first appears, his traveling nurse clearly calls him "Tony". For the rest of the film he's called "Tommy", the character's official name.

Quotes:

Mrs. Neall: That hood wasn't looking at her big blue eyes. He thinks that's me, and I think that's dandy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Silver Streak (1976)

Perhaps the best B movie of all time?

I'm a huge Charles McGraw fan. Every film he had a large part in, he excels and makes the film better.

Having seen this film 4 or 5 times, my respect for it has grown over the years.

The cinematography isn't perfect - the film probably could have benefited by staying dark and grainy as it seems to be in the early, night scenes.

The taut train scenes seem too bright, but there's nothing wrong with it, simply my preference. A darker train would have made for a more sinister film. Even so, there's plenty of excitement.

The crackling dialogue between Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor is consistently sharp. Seriously, you will have a hard time finding anything more bitter than those two. I'm not sure any other male-female could have made the dialogue (which in a 1950's way is almost corny) come off so terse, as they continuously bark at each other. Someone needs to count the number of times McGraw tells Windsor to "Shut up!".

The film has some exciting twists and turns; you'll enjoy each one.

Great story, solid performances all the way around. This is a FUN movie.